A suggestion if I may......consider collecting old jeans from friends and neigbors. They will give them to you. Or at least go to a thrift store or some yard sales and buy used jeans. I would skip kids jeans and buy men's sizes that have larger areas to use, such as the legs. They will be softer and easier to work with considering they have been washed many time.
I tried the design made from circles and thought they were too small. I would make them dinner plate size if/when I begin to work with denim again.
My husband wears out the knees in his jeans (lots of praying, you know!) so I cut out anything I cannot use, after I have cut away the seams. Maybe the dinner plate is a bit too big, but at least the largest circle you can find. I made about 9 pieces with the coffee can lid and felt it was so small I would never get the thing done.
June